To some observers, extending the contract of general manager Chris Drury was a tone-deaf move by the New York Rangers in the aftermath of one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.
But ESPN hockey insider Greg Wyshynski believes that James Dolan wanted to be heard loud and clear that Drury is in charge and has the absolute support of the Rangers owner after Mika Zibanejad and others aired their grievances Monday about how management helped sink their season.
"The fact that they did this is a shot across the bow at the locker room to say 'You should know who's in charge. You should all fall in line. And the squeaky wheels will be rolled out of the locker room before next season,'" Wyshynski told Forever Blueshirts on the latest RINK RAP podcast.
Contract extensions for the general manager or coach under Dolan's stewardship have generally been quiet affairs, not announced publicly by the Rangers. The only time there's a public announcement is when there's a change, like when Drury replaced Jeff Gorton as GM and John Davidson as team president in May 2021, or more recently when Peter Laviolette was fired as coach last weekend.
Not this time. The Rangers alerted the media and posted on social media that Drury's contract was extended — a very public show of support by Dolan, who likely was irked by players blaming Drury for his heavy-handed approach to reshaping the roster. More specifically, players ranging from Zibanejad to Adam Fox to Chris Kreider all detailed how Drury's handling of respected veterans on the way out the door impacted the dressing room.
"My first thought was: Look who won," Wyshynski said. "If there's any thought that the players through their post-season comments — and you can't separate this news from what those guys were saying after the season about the lack of communication within the organization, about the impact of Drury's approach to Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba had in the locker room … you can't separate that from being so public in announcing a new multi-year contract for their general manager, coming off a season in which they precipitously fell from the Presidents' Trophy to becoming a non-playoff team."
There's plenty of blame to go around the Rangers this season. From management to the coaches to the players, it was an epic fail. The Rangers finished with 29 fewer points than 2023-24 and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs by six points, just a year after setting franchise records for wins (55) and points (114).
Drury accepted his share of the blame after firing Laviolette. The GM sought to retool the roster last summer after the Rangers were bounced in the Eastern Conference Final by the Florida Panthers in six games. Needing to create space under the tight salary cap, he worked around Goodrow's no-trade clause by placing the two-time Stanley Cup champion on waivers, where he was claimed in a pre-arranged agreement by the San Jose Sharks .
Goodrow didn't receive much notice about this move and was particularly pissed off because the Sharks were on his no-trade list.
Then there was the drawn-out situation with Trouba, whom Drury tried to trade last offseason but was stymied by the captain blocking any move with his 15-team no-trade clause. That the situation became public was a major problem for Trouba and his Rangers teammates right from Day 1 of training camp. It continued until Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in December — only after Drury threatened to put the defenseman on waivers.
"I sympathize with some of them (the players) because there's a difference between breaking up the team and breaking up the team in the manner Chris Drury sought to do it," Wyshynski explained. "The big problem the room had with the Trouba situation was the attempt to strong arm him in the summer and the knowledge that his time in New York was basically over, basically cutting the legs out from under him as the captain."
WATCH complete RINK RAP interview with Greg Wyshynski on the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page
Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Now that it's clear Drury's not going anywhere and has the power of Dolan behind him, what happens with disgruntled players and how will the GM try to reshape the roster this summer?
It's clear the Rangers want to be tougher to play against and shed their soft image — on and off the ice — which only was exacerbated by a slew of no-show performances that submarined their playoff chances this season. That's why they traded for J.T. Miller in January.
Reading into Dolan's public display of support for Drury, it's safe to say that if a player is not on board with how the operation is run, he won't last long with the Rangers. Again, it feels that Zibanejad is in the cross-hairs here, even though he's got a no-move clause in his contract.
Kreider expressed his desire to remain with the Rangers. But considering Drury already had the 33-year-old forward's name spelled out in the infamous November trade memo to other NHL general managers, it's likely that Kreider's days are numbered on Broadway, even though he has a 15-team no-trade clause.
"They've shown no hesitation in strong-arming veteran players to get what they want," Wyshynski summed up. "So, it's all on the table … there's a number of ways to take it to make someone feel uncomfortable enough to bend to the will of the team as far as trying to move them off of the [salary] cap."
